Some people swore to me that just because the free-software General Public License (GPL) clashes with the Apple App Store's Terms of Service (ToS), didn't mean that Apple would actually pull down GPLed apps. Well, Apple just did. Remi Denis-Courmont, a Linux developer of the popular VLC media player, has just announced that Apple had pulled the popular GPLed VLC media player from its App Store.

Just don't buy an iPhone, iPad, or any other iThing Apple releases that relies exclusively on the "App Store" to obtain software. Problem solved. I can't say I'm surprised; wasn't this known to be one of the most likely and simplest of the few possible outcomes in this situation to begin with? Now if anything, to avoid making themselves look like asses again, Apple will probably be extra cautious or outright ignore requests for GPL-licensed software in the future.

To be honest... I can't blame them. This is an example where one developer of the program wants to see it succeed on Apple's portable devices, and another doesn't. And because Apple's terms of service is incompatible with the GPL, they're automatically going to just toss the GPL program before they would even consider lightening up their own terms. Anyone who didn't see this coming is blind.

Oh well, doesn't affect me--I will never own one of their stupid iGadgets.

If you write your own code, it is your code, so you may do with that whatever you wish.

If you don't write code, GPL software won't bite you, you know. You are absolutely free to run it without restriction. Fill your boots. Have a ball.

If you want to use someone else's GPL code in conjunction with your work, keep it separated from your work. Do not include any GPL source code actually within your work, but rather write your own code to run "on top of" GPL code. Here is an example of a company with a proprietary product which has done just that: http://www.bricsys.com/common/news.jsp?ksearch=Linux

If you want to re-distribute someone else's GPL code, then simply re-distribute their source code as well. Its their code anyway, no skin of your nose to re-distribute it even as source code.

You do not have to distribute source code for your work, if you do not want to, if it was actually your work.